In case you missed it, last week I held a contest asking readers to send in their best DIY, money-saving, eco-friendly, or creative wedding ideas. Apparently all you blog readers are brilliant, and I loved all the ideas you came up with. This was so fun to put together! :)

Also, make sure to check out the top 5 ideas in the post below this one...Lindsey won our contest by getting the most votes for her awesome idea. Congrats Lindsey!

Get the most from your photos- Find creative ways to make the most of your investment in your photography by picking up a copy of the book Photos, Style Recipes from Pottery Barn.

Morning Wedding- A great way to save money for your wedding is to have a morning ceremony (esspecially if you chose to have a beach/outdoor wedding).  You will also save money at the venue that you chose to have your reception at... you can save around $500 - $1000 if you chose to have a brunch reception.  I just recently got married and chose this option because breakfast has always been my husband and I's favorite meal and it was a great way to incorporate who we are into our wedding. Plus, we saved around $1,000!! -Ruthie

Antique Touches- Someone told me about a wedding they went to recently that was travel themed.  The couple decorated the cake/gift/display table with antique suitcases and pictures of their grandparents weddings.  The guests filled out advice/well wishes cards for the couple on antique postcards and hung them on a tree.  I just like the idea of antique suitcases every where. -Erin

Use What You Have- Borrow your mom's veil for your something old and something borrowed, it is great if you are going for a more vintage feel. Also, Wear your favorite shoes from your closet, if your dress is long no one will see them and it's one less thing to buy.  Plus the shoes you have are more your style and will most likely coordinate with your wedding. -Courtney

Handmade Thank Yous- Instead of splurging on stationary, make your own Thank You notes using plain store-bought cards, and then stamping them. -Kristen

Music Savvy Tips- Since the love of my life is music...this idea is about music. I know so many of us girls dream of having an 8-piece band with cheesy wedding singer at our receptions, singing all our favorites and maybe one or two of our parents favorites. This is incredibly expensive! I'm sure you know. So, you downgrade to a DJ. He's got the radio voice, the records spinning...just one problem. Also moderately expesive. So listen up bride-to-be! Get on your computer and log onto itunes. Within a few hours, you can have a rockin' mix of your own. All you need to do is hire a wanna-be DJ friend (for cheap) and rent some speakers and you are on your way to a jammin' reception with all the perfect songs, sung just like you like them! -Cherith

Stay Organized- Probably the most important (and overlooked) way to save money for your wedding is to stay organized with a strict plan and budget. That way you know exactly where all your money is going. Invest in a good planner, with a section for budgeting, like this one from See Jane Work. See Jane Work also has tons of great and practical gift items for your bridesmaids, etc. 

RSVP Online- Something that I'm doing to cut cost is....instead of paying double for stamps on the return envelopes for RSVP, I'm designing a simple business card sized insert with a 'check yes or no' type theme. You may call it cheap but....its gonna save money. All they do is send a quick email to (for example) wellbethere@gmail.com or sorrywecant@gmail.com. -Kristin

Photo Props- Just something creative and fun...smittensticks{dot}com

Use Your Village-  We all know the charming cliché, “It takes a village to raise a child.” I would argue that it also takes a village to get that child married!  One of my favorite money saving tactics has been finding the wildly talented people that are part of my life already and asking them to be part of this special time. My future mother-in-law is tackling my wedding dress alterations!  Alterations can be just as expensive as the dress, so I was thrilled when she offered her services.  Not only is it saving money, but she is glad to feel so involved and use her skills.  She has two sons and no daughters so she loves to take part in all the girly stuff! -Lindsey

Giant Balloons- I'm stealing this from www.greenweddingshoes.blogspot.com...but it's such a GREAT idea! Here's what the couple, Kate & Andy, did - "Andy really wanted to use paper lanterns, but we couldn't hang them due to the gallery's super high ceilings, so I found the large white balloons, hoping they would have the same effect. We used twine for the strings and collected antique knobs and hooks to use as weights--" LOVE it!!! And absolutely love that they incorporated the balloons into their group photos!! The pictures on the greenweddingshoes blog speak for themselves. :) -Lezlie

Gather Inspiration from Blogs- I love finding unique ideas on different wedding blogs like Snippet and Ink, EtsyWeddings, and Style Me Pretty. -Megan

More Fabric Flowers- I'm penny pinchin' for this wedding. I'd rather spend less for the wedding and save more for our life together. Benefits: 1) Saves Money (no purchasing whole-sale flowers, keeping them cool, no design/arrangement fees & shipping cost) 2) Keepsake (I could keep them on my kitchen table in a snazzy vase for all of time) 3) It looks cool (this is the most technical reason of them all) 4) they don't die. -Kristin

Second Hand Shopping- I actually bought my wedding dress from a bridal resale shop in Dallas. While some brides might not want to have a wedding dress that someone else wore, I was totally happy with this option. It didn't bother me at all because I got an amazing designer dress for a great price! No one else had to know it had been previously owned (although I was so proud of it that I told lots of people anyway!). It looked brand new and totally perfect. -Jenna

Thrift Shop for Table Decor- Places like Salvation Army have old mismatched glasses and tins that you can easily turn into into the most gloriously quaint flower vases and centerpieces.

(credits: Apartment Therapy, W Scott Chester, Kristin Partin, Gabriel Ryan)